Messenger - Vol. 2, No. 2, Page 11
Winter 1993
On Campus
Agricultural biotechnology center planned

     Ground will be broken in the fall for a new $7 million agricultural
biotechnology center to be located east of Townsend Hall on the Newark
campus, pending approval from a visiting U.S. Department of Agriculture
team.
     If approved, the federal government may provide up to 50 percent of
the cost of construction, with the remainder to be raised from the private
sector.
     The biotechnology center would be the first building on campus to have
bio-containment laboratories specifically designed for agricultural work in
microbiology and molecular biosciences. The 15,067-square-foot building
also will include three small offices, a seminar room that will hold up to
50 people and animal rooms.
     The primary users of the new center would be faculty from the College
of Agricultural Sciences who may work in collaboration with industry and
government researchers. According to John Rosenberger, chairperson of the
Department of Animal Science and Agricultural Biochemistry, major emphasis
would be placed on poultry disease research and vaccine development, but
researchers from other academic units in the University would be encouraged
to use the facilities.
     With a $50,000 planning grant from the state, the preliminary building
design and assessment of building and operating costs were developed by a
committee made up of representatives from the University, the poultry
industry and government. The committee's recommendations were made to the
University administration in the spring of 1992, and in December, the Board
of Trustees endorsed the need for a biotechnology laboratory at the
University.
     To obtain federal support, the college submitted a proposal to a
competitive program administered by USDA's Cooperative States Research
Services. Evaluation of the proposal includes a site visit by the USDA
review team. If the proposal is accepted, the center will be recommended
for funding to the U.S. Senate for the 1993-94 fiscal year.
     If funded, the biotechnology center is expected to be completed by
January 1995.